RTL plays down ITV merger talk

Channel Five owner RTL today denied it had held talks with the private equity consortium stalking ITV about a possible merger of the two broadcasters.

An RTL spokesperson added that the pan-European broadcaster, owned by German media giant Bertelsmann, was "happy with the development of Five".

The idea of an ITV/Five merger, reported in the Daily Telegraph today, was also played down by a source close to the Greg Dyke consortium, which is backed by Goldman Sachs, Apax and Blackstone.

Mr Dyke and his partners in the ITV consortium also have more pressing concerns than a Five takeover, after their initial bid for ITV was rejected last week by the company's board.

The consortium is waiting to see the outcome of a series of meetings the ITV chief executive, Charles Allen, is holding with shareholders this week before deciding whether to make a revised offer.

RTL's cool reaction to the merger story reflects comments made last week by the chief executive, Gerhard Zeiler, when he said the company was not interested in becoming involved with Mr Dyke's bid or making its own approach for ITV.

"We have a clear strategy that we have always outlined, first to build up Five so that it's strong and secure player - not the number one but the number two in the UK - and then to start a family of channels, which we will do this year. This is our strategy and it has not changed," said Mr Zeiler.

However, Bertelsmann is conducting a review of its assets as it considers selling off parts of the group.

The disposals could be used to fund a bid for the 25% stake in Bertelsmann owned by Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, the Belgian investment firm.

GBL wants to list its holding from May this year, a move that Bertelsmann's owner, the Mohn family, is keen to reverse. Bertelsmann is believed to be keen to buy back the stake, which has been valued at up to 5bn euros (£3.5bn).